I don’t know why, but it wasn’t what they were saying that was important. Sure, as a storyline goes it was a damn good one and the fact that it was laced with very real, long-held bitterness and animosity only increased the enjoyment of the situation, but it wasn’t that either. For me, it was the close up. A shoulder on the left of my screen, a shoulder on the right and all else in between was either Heyman, McMahon or Bischoff. After the show, I rewound the tape and paused it on that image of the three of them and it looked wrong somehow. Even with the years that have passed since these guys were at war with eachother, you could still sense the pride that they all had for their respective achievements and it was a truly special moment. I wish they’d just let them talk for the whole two hours, I’m sure we would have learnt some pretty amazing stuff from their cathartic experience. But just as a reunion of your favourite group would always be one song too short, a lot of fascinating conversation was left out and we had to be content with a few meaty scraps of the truth and a lot of fluff to soften to blow. Still, my Raw moment of the year so far and up there with the best in history (Jericho’s debut during Rock’s promo being my favourite).
I’m fairly sure I can’t be alone in this, but my mind went into overdrive during the ECW funeral segment and I was already figuring out how to make the ‘Invasion’ angle work the second time around. You could have Team ECW, Team WCW and Team WWE, and Smackdown could be turned into Nitro, you could bring back the ECW title, go back to calling the World Heavyweight title the WCW belt and have a triple-threat match for the ‘ultimate’ champion; it would be just like the old days. Except it wouldn’t, would it? Even though during the segment, Bischoff was smug and dismissive like he used to be in WCW, Heyman was passionate and challenging just like he used to be in ECW and Vince was arrogantly superior and assured just like he’s always been, you were watching a boss and two of his employees. I’m all in favour of the ECW PPV and I’ll be watching on June 12 with fond memories to the fore but the reason why the ‘spirit’ is still alive is because it died. I’m not against a resurgence of garbage wrestling but that’s not what ECW was about and to bring it back as an affectation of what it once stood for is a reanimation of the body, even if it’s braindead. ECW was a promotion where someone could go if they wanted to perform. They didn’t have to be a Goliath or an Adonis, they didn’t have to be able to sell tee-shirts or do cameo roles in tv shows, they just had to go out in front of nine hundred people who were hard to impress and impress them. What you will see next month is the WWE’s idea of what ECW once was and I for one will love it. But it’s not the same, and it never will be.
You know that video recorders have a ‘timer reset’ button that sends the clock back to 00:00? I’ll come back to that later. I started off last night being fairly suspicious of the events that were going to unfold. I was worried that the show would suffer if too much importance was placed on the Edge/Batista match, especially considering that these two had not gelled when previously in the ring together and the real Edge/Lita heat could overshadow the purpose of the main event. After the opening Edge/Lita promo, I felt a little better about it. Despite their heelish mannerisms being a bit obvious I thought it worked okay and there was enough storyline heat from the fans, mixed in with real heat, to justify continuing with the idea. It was seeing Edge/Lita/Christian/Tomko backstage that first aroused my interest properly. Okay, I know the easy way to make a group of people look cool is to clad them in simple black (I can do fashion too) but damn it if they didn’t look like the sort of faction that could be worth running with. Given the kind of socially encompassing push that a faction brings, they would become self-elevating and with a further addition (maybe a rejuvenated Jericho?) could be the dominant force on Raw in years to come, if the draft allows it. Then Batista and Flair had another ‘Hallmark’ moment. It is always wise to keep a sceptical eye on Flair (seeing as he’s been turned more times than the pages of Playboy) but it was more a sense that it should be a genuine face turn this time not out of desire, but because it would devalue him further if it was a ruse. The match itself was a good one. The booking allowed both men to concentrate on their strengths (Batista’s power and Edge’s comparative speed) and the interference from Lita/Christian/Tomko was sufficient that it helped boost Batista’s support without becoming a nuisance. Some nice near falls and a powerful finish made this a rewarding finale to the show. Almost.
I have no problem with HHH returning. A lot of people hate him and that’s cool, I see no reason to convince you otherwise. A lot of people like him and that’s cool too. He’s a great performer and to keep him off tv when he’s still very active is pointless when he could be used, albeit in other ways. Here’s my problem. The moment that Flair gave Batista one of his trademark low-blows, it was like someone had pressed the ‘timer reset’ button on the WWE and the last few weeks had meant nothing. All of the hard work in putting Lita and Edge together, combining them with Christian and Tomko, the ‘Gold Rush’ tournament, Batista and Flair’s moments, the betrayal of Kane, the Edge/Batista title match, every last bit of it had been a waste of time. It would have been so much better for HHH to come back to a landscape that was unfamiliar to him, his recent spot against Batista no more, and I’d even have gone as far as to bring him back after the draft so that the environment was completely alien to him. This would have meant a new direction for his character and a new set of goals. All the end of Raw did was put everything back the way it was. The main event has returned, the mid-card will settle back into its place and everyone moves down a spot to compensate. Normal service has been resumed, do not adjust your televisions.
Elsewhere, Hassan and Daivari had a handicap match with Shelton Benjamin thanks to the tardy antics of Chris Jericho. The miscommunication that lead to a few spots being blown during the course of the match can easily be put down to just having an ‘off night’ and are minor blips on an otherwise rising curve for all three men, though I’d be concerned if it happened on a regular basis. The crispness of the action in the other parts of the match, including a deep snap suplex and the way Hassan went along with a surprise hip-toss at short notice, more than covered the errors and Hassan is throwing that finishing move of his at lightning speed now. Hassan getting the first pin of what looks like their singles feud was a good idea, I just hope the Jericho ‘disinterest’ angle doesn’t become too much of a distraction and every opportunity should be taken to let Hassan and Benjamin be the main focus of the upcoming matches and promos.
Did you notice the crowd just standing there once the bell had rung for Jericho’s match with Sylvan Grenier? Wondering if this was it. I understand that Y2J is going through a storyline stutter, presumably to incept a renaissance at some point, but the good memories that his entrance package induces wont survive too many pointless Raw matches. The action was good, Jericho’s always been a watchable wrestler and Grenier is solid despite having done little of importance since his debut as a biased referee in the pocket of Vince, but their efforts were in vain and mostly wasted on an audience (quite rightly) interested in other, more meaningful things.
I said last week that the only thing that stopped the Benoit/Tajiri ECW rules match from being the match of the night was the interruption from first Coach and then Bischoff. See, I was lacking in forward thinking. This week, the things that stopped it from being the match of the night was that it was far too short, the ‘green mist’ was way too early and it lacked a table/ladder spot so that the weapons usage seems more like transitional moves, rather than the main hardcore focus. Why you would give what could have been a cracking match only three minutes of air time and afford Viscera nine minutes to gird his loins is beyond me. I’ve said before that supply and demand is the key to business so this Viscera stuff must have a place on the show because some of you are enjoying it but I’d be so much happier if they didn’t shave minutes off good matches just so he can give ‘Little Vis’ an airing and then steal the contents of Lillian’s stomach for his lunch. Maria seems a natural at playing the dumb bimbo (take from that what you want).
Chris Masters wrestled a proper match this week, if only a glorified squash against Steven Richards, but then we shouldn’t complain. I still say that despite the annoying personality (which is the idea) and the deadly dull ‘Masterlock’ challenge (also intentionally grating), Masters has something and could be one to watch for the future. He’s quick, powerful, sells well and he used two variations that I’ve not seen on Raw before, in a short contest. Nowhere near enough wrestling screen time to make a final judgement, but I’m okay with him. Just don’t bring the damn challenge back next week (it does seem likely though).
Somebody send Kane to the Dr Phil show. At least then he wouldn’t be the only bald retard on my television. Do I sense a mask in Kane’s future?
RAW AWARDS
Match of the night – Batista v Edge.
Worst match – Tajiri v Benoit.
Star(s) of the show – Vince/Bischoff/Heyman.
Moment of the show – Vince/Bischoff/Heyman segment.
Best sign – “ EDGE STOLE THE BIG RED MORON’S WIFE”.
Best quote – “In fact, no man I’ve ever been with could have satisfied me” (Lita).
Lee
